


from the mouth of gabriel

by divine_chicken



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Background Casphardt and Edelmari, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Patricide, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26383504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divine_chicken/pseuds/divine_chicken
Summary: Four times Hubert doesn't cry, and the two that he does. Starts with a focus on his relationship with Edelgard and moves to his relationship with Ferdinand through the years.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 14
Kudos: 93





	from the mouth of gabriel

1\. Sunday the 25th, Garland moon, 1875

The first time Hubert cries, he's only ten years old. He's only ten years old, and he's still holding the black notebook Edelgard had gifted him the previous day, but he is shaking so bad that he fears that the book will fall from his hands at any given moment.

_" What do you mean, she's gone?"_

_" Edelgard is gone," his father had responded. " I am as shocked as you are, Hubert," his father had said in a noncommital way._

_" If you're so shocked, then why aren't you doing anything about it? I thought the Vestras were supposed to serve the Empire? What happened to that?" He'd gasped back, hands shaking._

_" There is nothing to be done about it," his father had responded in a manner that all but screamed ' there is something to be done about it, but I'm too corrupt to care '._

_" There is, " he had snarled back, young as he was. " If you are unwilling to carry out your duty as a Vestra, then I shall."_

_" You will do no such thing," his father had hissed back, serpentine eyes narrowing dangerously.  
" You are but a boy." _

_"... You keep telling that to yourself," he'd all but barked in response before storming out, searching for a messenger to send, a horse to ride, anything that could stop his idleness -_

_The last thing he'd remembered was a blast of magic directed straight at his back - by his own father, nonetheless, then the soil against his cheek, and - was the thing that was trickling down his cheek blood?_

Here he is now, the entire left side of his face bruised from the fall, his back stinging from the impact of the magic, and his lip trembling as his tears stain the notebook's hard cover. He's not sure what it is that finally makes him snap - him being separated from the only person he's ever cared about? The overwhelming inability to do anything to help her? The feeling of betrayal from his own father, his very flesh and blood?

Regardless, he learns two things that day.

One, that nobility is but a farce a select few corrupt bastards use as an excuse to remain in positions in power - and his disgust is so heavy that the very blood that's coursing through his veins causes him to retch.

Two, that Wilhelm Von Vestra is no father of his.

With those lessons in mind, he cries for the first and ( what he thinks will be ) the last time.

2\. Monday the 3rd, Verdant Rain Moon, 1875

When Edelgard is back, he sheds no tears, even though the girl he knew died in Shambhala. She is a miserable little thing, bandages covering every other inch of her body, her roots white against her soft auburn hair that looks awfully dead right now. 

When finally sees him again, her bandaged hand wrapped around Lord Arundel's thumb, she all but runs towards him ( _Edie, you'll break the bandages, Edie! Come back here!_ , ) " Hubert," She asks, her violet eyes steely and lacking their previous childish flare, " Hubert, " and her body looks like it's been dragged through a sea of blades, " what happened to your cheek? " " My- My ladu, you just went through all ... That, and you are concerned about me?!"

" Of course," she responds with a sad smile. " You're the only family I have left, Hubert," she whispers, and a sob almost wracks his body, but he keeps it inside.

He can't.

At that moment, as Edelgard pulls away from his embrace to inspect his bruised face, he makes a vow to himself to never cry again, because Edelgard doesn't need a servant who cries. What Edelgard needs is a knife, a sharp and unrelenting blade that is willing to cut through anything that shall in her path.  
So he steels himself, and he wills the child away from his eyes so that he can match his lady.

Something shifts in that moment, and they both know it. Something inside of them hardens, something burns, and when he looks back at her, the boy that was crying inside his room has died. 

" It's nothing, Lady Edelgard. Pay it no mind."

_"Hubert," she will ask him only a month later.  
" I have been thinking of something for a while now. "_

_" Care to disclose what it is, my Lady?"  
Her smart eyes glimmer._

_" ... I need to know something first," she responds, fingers fiddling with the hem of her skirt.  
"You once promised me to follow me to the ends of the world, if need be. Does that still hold true, Hubert?"_

_" You know it, my Lady. I'd readily throw myself into burning flames, if you asked it of me."_

_Edelgard smiles._

3\. Wednesday the 14th, Horsebow Moon, 1180.

Hubert and nobility have parted ways since long ago at this point, and the sheer existence of Ferdinand Von Aegir reinforces that. He's met the pest that is Ludwig Von Aegir before, the very representation of everything wrong with Fodlan's nobility, and apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Ludwig's son is loud, Ludwig's son is irritating and Ludwig's son is obsessed with everything noble - even though he didn't play any part in being born in the Aegir family. Moreso, he thinks himself Edelgard's equal, if not her superior, and he's so _disgustingly_ prim and proper that Hubert all but prays for an opportunity to get rid of him.

He snaps at him more than once, and Ferdinand retaliates, and their arguments all but drip venom.

Hubert feels tears of frustration spring to his eyes after a particularly exasperating argument, but he blinks them away quickly. He refuses to cry for a worthless noble brat.

4\. Ethereal Moon, May the 26th, 1183.

" Don't - don't you dare come any closer! I am a servant of the empire!" Wilhelm cries, and Hubert thinks the situation to be quite ironic, actually, a tiny smirk springing to life on his face.

" Come again?" Hubert retorts, his voice almost unsettlingly calm.  
" Does serving the empire include associating yourself with Those Who Slither In The Dark, Wilhelm?" He spits.  
" For how much of an idiot do you take me?"

" Hubert - Hubert, please!" The man cries, miserable tears streaming down his face, snot running from his nose. Pathetic, even in his last moments.  
" I am your Father! You wouldn't kill your father, would you? Please, I am so very sorry about everything, please, Hubie, _please_!"

" Don't you dare use that name on me." Hubert hisses, miasma springing to life on his marred hands.  
" You are no father of mine," he spits.

Later, Ferdinand will look at him with a look of genuine concern.  
" Do you need some time off? I can care for your steed for you, you must be in mourning..."

" Please, there is no need," he responds, a tiny smirk on his face, his father's ( his own? ) blood still staining his gloves.

" As if I'd ever cry for someone like that."

4½. Friday the 7th, Harpstring Moon, 1185. 

He doesn't remember when the insults hurled at Ferdinand turned into friendly jabs, or when his venomous hatred turned into feelings of amicality, or yet when Ferdinand's smile started being such a pleasant sight to watch.

He's never been one for emotions, he knows that very well - so when something in his chest flutters to life at the sight of Ferdinand's smile, his very first thought is that he's having a heart attack.  
He doesn't know when the noble stopped being so obnoxious, but what he does know is that he chose to forsake his own father for the sake of Edelgard and the world she dreamt of - and if he were to be a romantic in the way that Dorothea is, he'd call him a real noble, one who's not defined by his birth name but by his ideals and choices.

He doesn't remember when was the last time that his smile was one of happiness, not one revelling in others' despair - but he thinks it has something to do with Ferdinand understanding his sense of humor perfectly and reciprocating in his own delightfully ( he almost does a spittake when he realizes what he just thought of ) loud way.

(" It's a gift, yes! A gift for you!" , Ferdinand says, and the only reason Hubert doesn't cry when he realizes someone cares about _him_ is because he doesn't know what the world is outside of war - so he resigns himself to gently holding the bag of coffee beans to his chest and the gentle sound of laughter in the afternoon. )

6\. Saturday the 19th, Pegasus Moon, 1185.

He knows that every mage has their limits, and that though he takes much longer to run out of steam, there comes a time where he, too, needs to stop.

This is how it goes. 

The smoke is still heavy despite their troops rushing to put the fires out, and the capital is but a husk of what it once was, and weren't the prize so hefty, Hubert would've called it a Pyrrhic victory, a repetition of Arianrhod. 

Rhea's husk lies before Edelgard and the professor, and the Eagles are hugging each other. Somewhere in the background, Caspar pulls Linhardt for a kiss, and it's honestly taken way too long, and if the way Marianne is running to the Emperor's side is any indication, they aren't the only ones to kiss today.

Yet here he is, running away from the pack before his Queen can notice - because an Eagle is missing, because the light to his shadow is not there, and he tries to blame the tightness in his lungs on the smoke that's still pulsing through the broken capital. 

He finds his horse first, and sweet Genevieve is snorting and stomping in distress, and it's clear there's something wrong - she waits for him to get close to her before she leads him to her master.  
Smart thing, Hubert thinks - maybe noble steeds do have their appeal after all.

Following her through the ransacked city, Hubert steps above corpses of harmless citizens and demolished households, but he pays it no mind, because he's not there, _Ferdinand_ is not there, and he can't understand why he can't rejoice alongside the rest of the eagles.

Finally, the mare stops upon a corner, and Hubert almost chokes at the sight.  
It's like a beautiful painting that's been ran through, he thinks as he drops to his knees so he can take a better look at Ferdinand's unconscious form, his bright hair that's been dulled by the ashes, his long eyelashes that are caressing his cheeks as if he's just sleeping, and perhaps most importantly - the arrow seated right next to his heart.  
Not here, he thinks - not here, not here, not now, not when we won.

Hubert has gone past his limit once in his life before, and the backlash from his body came in the form of the skin on his hands turning a sickly black and permanent nerve damage.  
Edelgard had made him promise to never go overboard again, no matter how dire the situation.

He silently whispers an apology to her as he readies himself for a healing spell. 

( _" It's quite amusing to me that someone who despises the Goddess is so good at Faith magic," Linhardt had once said, a tiny smile of amusement twisting at his lips._

 _" ... I have other things I believe in," Hubert had responded, the striking red of Edelgard's attire burning in his mind._ )

It's only when he's removed the arrow that he realizes he's been thinking of Ferdinand's horse galloping through the battlefield, and Ferdinand's bright smile at him, and his warm palm on his shoulder, and the warm freckles on his face when the sun was warm, and-

Since when was he unable to see? And is the liquid trickling down his cheeks sweat or blood? Was the smoke that severe? He ought to get on with it quick.

He retreats to his safe place once again as his hands glow with warm healing magic, and though his ribs hurt and his knees tremble, he perseveres as the wound slowly closes up, as if it never was there in the first place, and Ferdinand might be only dozing off.  
He must go back to emperor Edelgard before they depart, and he must-

" 'ubie?" A small voice comes, and he breaks away from his thoughts at once, his hand gently brushing Ferdinand's sweaty locks away from his eyes.

" Welcome back", he greets with a relieved smile.  
" I thought we'd lost you for a moment there."

" You're cryin', " Ferdinand slurs, an exhausted smile wide across his face.

" I'm not-" Hubert retorts, when he realises that the smoke has cleared, and before he can say anything else, a sob of relief courses through him. He's about to apologize when he hears Ferdinand's warm chuckle.

" I didn't realize I gave you such a scare," he murmured, his hand moving to rub shaky circles on Hubert's palm.  
" It's almost as if you care about me," he teases, and Hubert wants to slap him at that moment, because he just came back from the dead, and he's already joking, and Goddess above ( she is dead ), Hubert wants to kiss him.

He stops.

Hubert wants to kiss him.

Hubert is in love. 

He didn't think he'd ever fall in love.

" Of course I'd be scared," he responds, twisting his hand so he can lace his fingers with Ferdinand's.  
" You're a valuable asset to the Empire, to Emperor Edelgard, and... You're valuable to me too." He flashes him a shy smile through his bangs.

"... I'm here now," Ferdinand murmurs tiredly, squeezing his hand back.

" When we're back at the Empire-"

" When all of this is resolved-"

They pause for a moment, staring at each other in stunned silence.  
Then Ferdinand, bless his soul, breaks into laughter, warm and genuine, and Hubert laughs too, and-

" Y'know," Caspar calls from atop his wyvern, " when I went searching for you two, I expected you to be dead in a ditch, not laughing."

Hubert starts, and Ferdinand jumps too, and their hands separate.

" Oh, sorry- am I interrupting something?" Caspar gasps.

" Not at all, " Hubert slurs, and he suddenly feels very exhausted, now the the adrenaline is wearing off, and his body hurts from breaking his limits, and is Caspar yelling something? 

( He blacks out.)

5½. Sunday the 20th, Pegasus Moon, 1185.

Hubert wakes up to warm droplets on his face, and he realises Ferdie's crying.

" You daft man, you fool, you saved me..." He hears as he's pulled into a hug, and his tired hands come to rest on the small of the bright man's back. He's gloveless, he realizes. It's been a while since he's seen his blackened fingers.

" Of course I did. Did you really have any doubt?" Hubert murmurs into his hair.

Ferdinand doesn't respond for a moment.

"... Ferdie-" Hubert starts, and Ferdinand tilts his head to the side to kiss his cheek, and he doesn't remember when one of his hands moved to pull Ferdinand in for a proper kiss.

What he does know is that that's the moment when he rejoices, when he realizes they've won - he pulls him closer, and he wipes the tears away from his freckled cheeks, and Ferdinand sighs in relief when they part.

" Does that mean you like me?" He asks, and Hubert breaks into laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on twitter! @twin__blades


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